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THE REORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY 
AND CUBAN INDEPENDENCE. 



SPEECH 



HON. WILLIAM SULZER, 



M 
OF NEW YORK, 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 



Thursday, April 7, 1898. 



WASHINGTON. 
1898. 



O&iJ 



. ^ speech 

^ Co 

OF 



7ll ON. WILLIAM SULZER. 



"V* The House having under consideration the bill (H. R. 92j3) for the better 
organization of the line of the Army of the United States- 
Mr. SULZER said: 

Mr. Speaker : This bill was carefully considered in the Com- 
mittee on Military Affairs. It was reported to this House with the 
understanding that each member should have the privilege 

Mr. HULL. Has there been any arrangement made as to the 
division of the time? 

Mr. SULZER. As I understand it, I am recognized in my own 
right. 

The SPEAKER. The gentleman from New York is recognized 
in his own right. 

Mr. HULL. What I was asking about was the division of the 
time. 

Mr. SULZER. I believe I have the floor, and I will proceed. 

Mr. Speaker, the bill was reported by the Committee on Mili- 
tary Affairs with the understanding, on my part, at least, that 
each member of the committee should have the privilege of tak- 
ing such position on it as he desired. For one I desire to say that 
I am absolutely opposed to the greater part of this bill. The only 
part of the bill that I favor is the provision for the reorganization 
of the Army on the basis of three battalions. 

There are, I believe, only three countries in the civilized world 
to-day which have their armies organized on the basis of two bat- 
talions. They are China, Persia, and the United States. Every 
civilized nation in the world which considers itself a military 
power has the modern organization of three battalions, and China, 
1 am informed, is about, or has recently, adopted this modern 
plan of organization. I therefore believe that the Government of 
the United States should adopt the three-battalion system. I 
favor that part of the bill, and I hope so much of the bill will pass. 

The chairman of the committee [Mr. Hull] has said this morn- 
ing on the floor of this House that at the conclusion of the debate 
he would favor striking out- alt of the bill after the second section. 

The first and second sections; of the bill simply provide for the 
reorganization of the Arnry'on the three-battalion system. That 
would not increase the number of the Regular Army, except to 
the extent of adding twenty-five additional majors. I can see no 
objection to that. 

I am a Jeffersonian Democrat, and I have always been opposed 
on principle to a large standing army in time of peace. I am op- 
posed now to any further extension of increasing the number of 
men in the Federal Army. 

The laws on the statute books at present seem amply sufficient 
for enlarging the Army in case of war. 

I make no criticism upon the Regular Army. It is a magnifi- 
cent body of brave and loyal men. It has made history. I have 
2 3251 



only praise for its valor and glory. The Regular Army speaks for 
itself and needs no eulogy from any man. But I do desire to say 
a few words in behalf of the militia of the States and the volun- 
teer forces of the Government, the citizen, soldiery of bur land. 
They constitute the flower of our land, the pride and glory of our 
States, and the reserved strength, greatness, and power of- our 
country in time of war. 

If this bill should pass in its, present shape, it would add t'orthe 
Regular Army over 75,000 men. This bill is not a war measure; 
no one contends that it is an emergency measure. If it passes ifr 
its present shape, it would make the standing Army of the country 
a little over 104,000 men, and until these men were mustered in 
for active service there could not be and there would not be a 
chance for the service of volunteers or the militia. In other words, 
if this bill became a law in its present shape, there could not be a 
single military organization from any State and there could not 
be a volunteer force from any State mustered into the Federal 
service in time of war unless more than 104,000 men were required. 
This, in my opinion, would be unfair and unjust to the citizen 
soldiery of the States and to the volunteer forces of the country. 

I believe in the citizen soldiery of our land. I take a deep inter- 
est in their welfare, and in so far as I can I shall always maintain 
their rights. The history of our country in time of war demon- 
states that there are no better soldiers. They are brave, patriotic, 
and intelligent. They come from the professions, from the work- 
shops, from the counting rooms, from the mills, from the mines, 
and from the fields. There are no better fighters than those who 
come from the volunteer forces of the people. These volunteers 
constitute the great patriotic army of our country. They are no 
hirelings, no mercenaries; they fight for the defense of home and 
country, for principle and glory, for liberty and the rights of 
man. In time of peace they follow their usual trades, professions, 
and occupations. They do not menace our liberties or the stabil- 
ity of our free institutions. In time or war they constitute an 
army of intelligent, well-drilled soldiers as large as any army in 
the world. In a republic like ours a great standing army in time 
of peace is useless, expensive, and dangerous. In time of trouble 
we should and we must rely upon the volunteer forces of the 
country. 

This bill, in its present shape, comes to us from the War De- 
partment, at the instigation of the officers of the Federal Army, 
to make places and secure promotions for them, and would bo 
unjust to the volunteer forces and the military organizations of 
the States whose rank and file and officers devote days, months, 
and years of valuable time to practice, to drills, to tactics, and to 
organization. 

If yon pass this bill as it is now, you may just as well disband 
every militia company and every volunteer organization in our 
country. 

I am glad that the chairman of the committee has agreed to 
strike out of this bill all ther ovisions increasing the Federal 
Army. He simply asks now, as I understand it, for the enactment 
of the first and second sections of the bill, which provide for the 
three-battalion system of organization. I can see no harm in that. 
I believe good will come of it. Our Army in time of peace and 
in time of war should be organized on the basis of the best mili- 
tary organization in the world. As at present constituted it i.? 
organized on a basis now obsolete, and not followed by any other 
great military power in the world. We ought to be up to date in 

1-251 



this as in everything else. The part of the bill to accomplish this 
should speedily pass. All the rest of it, and especially the part 
which seeks to increase the Federal Army, should be stricken out. 
Mr. Speaker, such are my views and opinions on this bill. I 
give them to the House for what they are worth. I shall now 
and hereafter vote in accordance with them until I am convinced 
that I am in error. No act of mine will ever, I trust, lend assist- 
ance to the disorganization of our State military organizations, 
and no vote of mine will ever, I hope, be cast to chill the ardor, 
the loyalty, and the patriotism of the splendid and magnificent 
volunteer forces of our country. 

While discussing this bill I may be pardoned, I hope, if I refer 
to the Cuban question. 

Poor Cuba is now the one question uppermost in the thoughts 
and talks of the people of our land. It is fitting and proper that 
I should again raise my voice in behalf of the struggling Cuban 
patriots. We are told that the crisis is here, and that war with 
Spain is now inevitable. If such is the case, I have no fears of 
the result. Cuba will be free, our national honor will be vindi- 
cated, and Spain will be humiliated in the dust. We will teach 
Spain a lesson she will never forget; and the conflict should be 
6hort, decisive, and annihilating. 

If we are on the eve of war, we are ready. I am one of those 
who believe either Spain or the United States must now back 
down. I am one of those who believe that we have now reached 
that crisis in Cuban affairs where nothing can be done by this 
country with honor unless we free Cuba. 

As everyone knows who is conversant at all with the Cuban 
matter, there was a time when war with Spain could have been 
averted. In my judgment and in the judgment of almost every- 
one, that day is now passed. We must fight now for the inde- 
pendence of Cuba and our national honor, or we must retire in 
disgrace. We must bring about the freedom of Cuba and wipe 
out the stain Spain has put on our flag, or we must forever here- 
after hold our heads in humiliation and shame before tne civilized 
powers of the world. 

Mr. Speaker, in the Fifty-fourth Congress a concurrent resolu- 
tion recognizing the belligerent rights of the Cuban patriots was 
passed by an almost unanimous vote. It went to the Executive, 
and he quietly pigeonholed it. If he had signed it, the Cubans 
would have achieved their independence within six months. 
Nothing else was done by the Fifty-fourth Congress regarding 
poor Cuba and her frightful tribulations. 

At the very beginning of this Fifty-fifth Congress— tobe accurate, 
on the 20th of May, 1897 — Senator Morgan passed in the Senate of 
the United States by an overwhelming vote a joint resolution 
granting belligerent rights to the Cuban patriots. That resolution 
was sent to this House on or about the 20th day of May ; 1897. The 
Speaker referred it to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and it 
has slumbered in that committee ever since. 

I am informed that the Committee on Foreign Affairs of this 
House has never taken action on that joint resolution. It is well 
known that if that resolution had been reported to this House, as it 
should have been long ere this, it would have passed by an over- 
whelming majority. If it had passed, it would have become a law 
and the Cuban people long ago would have achieved their own 
freedom and independence. 

Mr. Speaker, some one is responsible for the suppression of that 
joint resolution. Its suppression was a blunder worse than a 

3251 



crime Who is the man? In a number of speeches which I have 
made heretofore on the floor of this House relating to Cuba I 
have called attention m no mistaken terms to the suppression of 
Senator Morgan's joint resolution granting belligerent rights to 
the Cuban patriots All this trouble could have been averated if 
that resolution had passed. 

oi^ t r 1 ? e 1 War f ? r . c J . u ban independence began, over three years 
ago, the Cuban patriots have persistently and continuously be-^ed 
and pleaded that this country grant them belligerent frights 
Give them this right, they said, and they would do the rest If 

}w aC ri£ en Ti ? y ! ar ? g0 'P r two y ears a S°' no one doubts but 
tn at Cuba would to-day be a free and independent republic. Dur- 
ing this time they were and are entitled to belligerent rights 
according to the facts and by every construction of ^international 

They are entitled to more now, and in my judgment we should 
at least recognize their independence. We should have reco-- 
?™t *!& "dependence of Cuba long ago. We have delayed too 
long. We have neglected too much. The order of the day has 
been procrastination. Our responsibility is great, and we will 
realize it before a great while. The people will judge vou and 
nothing you can now do will alter or change their judgment re- 
garding your nonaction for three long years 
iff/^' th % following is the joint resolution of Senator 
Morgan I have referred to, and which I will now read: 
Joint resolution declaring that a condition of public war exists in Cuba and 
that strict neutrality shall be maintained. 

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United State, nf 
America m Congress assembled, That a condition of public war ex ist* between 
!^^ V - ei ; nmen 1 t K° f , Spain « and the government proclaimed and I for ^ome 
time maintained by force of arms by the people of Cuba and tw th7rrT,,?w? 
States of America shall maintain a Hl^^Mty bSwS uS'^tSdtaS 

Passed the Senate May 20, 1897. 

Attest: WM R CQX Secye!cri/ _ 

*rom that day to this the Committee on Foreign Affairs of this 
House has refused to report that resolution, notwithstanding the 
lepeated efforts of Democratic members to force it to do so It 
lias been suppressed in the committee for almost a year. What 
a shame! J "" 

e J f ^ h ?? been re P° rted and Passed, Cuba would have been free 
six months ago, and recent events would never have occurred 

£™ ™ W Tf • h °, uM g ? farther ' in m >* °P inion - Now we should 
i ecognize the independence of the Cuban Republic. Recognition 
of independence is a fact, and we have a right to determine what 
constitutes a fact as well as Spain had whin she SJSSSdttS 
southern Confederacy in 1861. The Cuban Republic is a living 
™ if W t rec °^ rnize t] ? e independence of the Cuban Republic* 
now, if we had done so six months or a year ago, Spain could not 
justly complain. It is not and could not be construed aJa casxis 
belli Spam could find no fault and would have no just cause of 
complaint against this Republic. This Government recogSzed 
the independence of all the South American Republics, and" Spain 
never did and never could find fault. P 

ri-L I ! 1 fi me f th< 1 we have neglected our duty regarding this im- 
portant question for the last two years, it is not yet too fate for us 
to pass a joint resolution recognizing the independence of Cuba 
JL- ■ i S ? ow P roi ?ptly and speedily, the Cubans will achieve 
their independence without any further help from us. The C ban 
patriots do not ask the Government of the United States to inter" 



6 

vene; they only ask for a recognition of their independence. We 
should ejrant it to thern immediately. It is the least we can do. 

They have been fighting their own battles; they have beaten 
Spain in every important engagement; they have conquered and 
hold more than three-quarters of the territory of the island: they 
have a stable government; they levy and collect taxes; they make 
and administer their own laws; they have a well-drilled army in 
the field; they have a permanent seat of government, and they 
say to us: " Give us recognition and we, with our own strong arms, 
will achieve our own independence." They ask for bread, and we 
give them a stone. We delay; we wait; we hesitate; we are to- 
day the laughing stock of the world. We should do our duty and 
let the President do his duty. We have waited here from Monday 
to Wednesday, from Wednesday to Monday, week in and week 
out, for the Executive to send his message to Congress. W hy 
should we wait? Why should we not, as representatives of the 
people, do our duty and discharge our responsibility: Why should 
we not pass the joint resolution recognizing the independence of 
Cuba, send it speedily to the President, and let him take such ' 
action on it as he may deem fit and proper? 

Let him sign the resolution or veto it, and let the responsibility 
for his action be upon his own head. Action on our part is what 
the people demand. No one here doubts that if the Committee 
on Foreign Affairs would report a joint resolution recognizing the 
independence of Cuba it would pass this House by an almost 
unanimous vote. Nine out of every ten members are in favor of 
recognizing Cuban independence. Why is the Committee on For- 
eign Affairs derelict in its duty? Resolution after resolution rec- 
ognizing Cuban independence* has been introduced in the House 
and referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and there they 
sleep the sleep that knows no waking. The Committee on For- 
eign Affairs seems to be bound and shackled. It is impotent. It 
can not act unless the Speaker tells it to act, and the Speaker will 
not give the word. We are waiting, waiting, waiting, for a weak 
and wabbling Executive to make up his mind what to do. We are 
waiting for his message. 

We know nothing whatever about it. We do not know that it 
ever will come. For one I have not yet given up hope. Perhaps 
next Monday, perhaps some day when it will be too late, a weak 
and apologetic message, similar to that submitting the testimony 
of the board of inquiry in regard to the tragedy of the Maine, 
may come in. For one I stand here and emphatically say I am 
opposed to further delay. I favor immediate action by this House. 
I am opposed to delegating the constitutional rights of the mem- 
bers of this House to the President of the United States. [Ap- 
plause.] 

We are the representatives of twpleephdneoa, e ought to have 
the courage of our convictions. Let us be men. Let us do our 
duty. Let us be true to the people and to our constituents. Let 
us act here what we talk about so eloquently elsewhere. Let us do 
something regarding this Cuban question or admit to the world 
that we are slaves or automatons. In the lobbies, in the smoking 
rooms of this House, on the street corners, and in the hotels, you 
sing the eloquent song of Cuban independence, and tell how anx- 
ious you are to bring it about; but in this House, for some reason 
or other, you stand mute and silent. Under your breath you 
murmur and mutter and threaten revolt; but when the time 
comes for action, you fall in line and do the bidding of your mas- 
ter. What secret power holds you thus? Is it the awful power 
3251 



of the Speaker, or is it the fear of the avenging mailed hand of 
Mark Hanna? 

Yon are very brave outside of the walls of this Chamber, but 
here you are afraid to open your mouths. You are the absolute 
creatures of some potent influence more powerful apparently than 
the will of the American people. If you act thus much longer the 
people will call you Speaker Reed's " reconcentrados " or Presi- 
dent McKinley's " paciticos." [Laughter and applause.] 

Mr. Speaker, some time ago I introduced a joint resolution rec- 
ognizing the independence of Cuba. It is buried in the Committee 
on Foreign Affairs, like many other resolutions on Cuba I have 
introduced. I can not get it out. I send a copy of it to the Clerk's 
desk and ask to have it now read, so that it will go in the Record. 

The SPEAKER. The resolution will be read in the time of the 
gentleman from New York [Mr. Sulzer] . 

The Clerk read as follows: 
Joint resolution (H. Res. 220) for the independence of the Republic of Cuba. 

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of 
America in Congress assembled. That the people of the Island of Cuba are, 
and of right ought to be, free and independent. 

That the Government of the United States hereby recognize the Republic 
of Cuba a3 the true and lawful government of that island. 

That the war Spain is waging against Cuba is so destructive of the com- 
mercial and property interests of the United States and so cruel, barbarous, 
and inhuman in its character as to make it the duty of the United States to 
demand, and the Government of the United States does hereby demand, that 
she at once withdraw her land and naval forces from Cuba. 

That the President of the. United States be, and he is hereby, authorized, 
empowered, and directed to use. if necessary, the entire land and naval forces 
of the United States to carry these resolutions into effect. 

That the battle ship Maine was blown up in the harbor of Havana Febru- 
ary 15, 1898, and the lives of 266 American seamen and marines lost by the 
action of Spain. 

Now, gentlemen, if you will vote here as you talk outside of the 
halls of this House, we can force a report of that resolution and 
pass it through Congress in twenty-four hours. The President 
will not dare refuse to sign it. It will become a law. It may 
avert war. Spain will probably back down, but at all events 
Cuba will be free in less than thirty days. [Applause.] Action 
on our part is all that is necessary. 

Over a week ago one of the members of the Committee on For- 
eign Affairs, the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Adams], in 
order, no doubt, to gain time, promised that the committee would 
report a joint resolution recognizing the independence of Cuba if 
the President did not send in the right kind of a message on the 
the following Monday. Monday has come and gone. No mes- 
sage. Wednesday has come and gone. No message. Will he send 
it in next Monday? I hope so. We all do; but if he does not, 
what then? Will the Foreign Affairs Committee report, or will 
it wait until the indignant members of this House rise up and 
force it to report the proper kind of a resolution? 

You all know the frightful situation and deplorable condition 
of affairs in Cuba. Every day is momentous. Every day of delay 
here means the death of thousands of innocent, peaceable men, 
women, and children. The suffering, the misery, the crime, and 
the butchery there can not be told in words. It is beyond the ex- 
pression of man. It has no parallel in history. It is unprece- 
dented in the blackest annals of the world. How much longer 
are we expected to wait? How much longer must we be put off? 
The press and the pulpit ring with denunciations against our dis- 
graceful conduct. Ninety-nine out of every hundred citizens in 
our land want us to do something. They want us to recognize 
3251 



the in i ce of Cuba, and, if necessary, maintain it by force 

of arms/ That is my position. If I am not mistaken, that is the 
position of every Democrat here and of the Democrats generally 
of the United States. 

Let us as the people s representatives have the courage to do our 
duty without waiting any longer. If the President will not lead, 
he must follow. We must take action at once. Any further de- 
lay on our part will he a criminal blunder. Our responsibility is 
great. We can not shift it nor evade the duty which stares us in 
the face. The press of the whole land rings with patriotic article 
after patriotic article asking us to do something. Our inaction is 
becoming a national scandal. It is becoming a disgrace. We 
have done practically nothing. We are doing nothing to help the 
starving, struggling, heroic Cuban patriots. Everything that the 
Government has done since the Cuban struggle began has been 
done in the interest of Spain and to help the Spaniards. 

We have spent millions of dollars of the people's money during 
the last three years doing police duty for Spain along our coasts. 
We have arrested and imprisoned our citizens on the alleged 
charge of trying to help the Cuban patriots, but they have vio- 
lated no law, national or international. We have done every- 
thing in our power to prevent the Cuban patriots from buying 
arms, food, clothing, medicine, and the munitions of war. We 
have appropriated $50,000,000 to get ready for something, and wo 
appropriated it without a murmur. We do not desire to harshly 
criticise the President; we have too much respect for the great 
office he holds; but we think it is only fair that he should take us 
into his confidence and let us know what he is going to do, how 
he is going to do it, and when he is going to do it. 

Mr. Speaker, the duty of the House of Representatives in regard 
to Cuba is now and for the last two years has been imperative. 
The way we have ignored this great question should bring the 
blush of shame to the cheek of every liberty-loving citizen in our 
land. At the beginning of the Fifty-fourth Congress I introduced 
a joint resolution granting belligerent rights to the Cubans, and 
subsequently, on the 2d day of March, 1896, in a speech I made on 
the floor of this House I said: 

The Cuban patriots are entitled by every construction of international law 
to belligerent rights. They have in the field a standing army of over 40,00 ) 
men. They have proclaimed their declaration of independence, similar to 
our own, and, in the opinion of many, more justifiable. They have adopted 
a provisional constitution, republican in form. They have elected a presi- 
dent, a vice-president, and a constituent assembly. They have a cabinet of 
ministers. They have a seat of government, and are in possession and hold 
three-quarters of the island. They are competent to-day to treat and nego- 
tiate with any other sovereign people on the face of the globe. 

They have maintained their army in the field against the great army of 
Spain, under the command of her first Captain-General, for more than a 
year. They have won important and decisive battles. They are uncon- 
quered and unconquerable. They are a brave, long-suffering, and patriotic 
people. They ought to win, and they will win. We do not know what i3 
going on in that island today, because Spain fears the- light of truth; be- 
cause Spain fears investigation; because Spain hates to allow the people of 
the world to know how she is conducting the war there. She has established 
a censorship of the press, of the cable, and of the post-office that is an affront 
and an insult to the intelligence, the progress, the civilization, and the en- 
lightenment of the last decade of the nineteenth century. 

On the 17th day of December, 1895, 1 offered the following reso- 
lution, which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs: 
Joint resolution declaring that a state of public war exists in Cuba and that 
belligerent rights be accorded to the Cuban Government. 
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of 
America in Congress assembled. That the Government of the United States 
recognizes a condition of public war between the Government of Spain and 
3251 



9 

the government proclaimed and for some time maintained by force of arms 
by the people of Cuba; and the United States of America hereby declare 
that they will maintain a condition of strict neutrality between the con- 
tending powers and accord to each all the rights of belligerents in the ports 
and territory of the United States. The Congress of the United States pro- 
test and remonstrate against the barbarous manner in which the war in Cuba 
has been conducted, and the President is hereby authorized to take such 
steps as may be expedient, in his judgment, to secure an observance of the 
laws of war as recognized by all civilized nations. 

That is all the Cuban patriots ask for or want. I introduced it 
at their request. It is moderate and conservative, but it accom- 
plishes the object desired, hoped for, and prayed for. I had 
indulged the ardent hope that the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
would report it and that it would pass Congress. 

Regarding the adoption of that resolution I said in that speech: 

If you will pass this resolution, I have no hesitancy in predicting that Cuba 
will be free and independent ere the end of the year. [Applause.] 

If it is not done, what then? Well, sufficient unto the day is the evil 
thereof. Congress will have to act, or the people of this country will say to 
their representatives and those in authority, in the w ords of the poet Watson: 
"Betrayers of a people, know thy shame." 

And what I said then is true to-day. 

In that same speech, speaking of the contest the Cubans were 
making, I said: 

These brave, noble, heroic Cuban patriots are fighting a battle of repub- 
licanism against monarchy; of democracy against plutocracy; home rule 
against the bayonet; the sovereignty of the individual against the sanctity 
of the king; the ballot against the throne; American liberty against foreign 
tyranny; and above all and beyond all, they are fighting a battle for the rights 
of man. They must and will succeed. 

And I predicted that— 

Spain can not win. She can not again subjugate Cuba. Her greatest gen- 
erals meet with defeat in every important engagement, and her resources 
are drained to a condition of national bankruptcy. She can not carry on the 
war much longer and must soon admit her inability to quell the revolution. 
From what I can ascertain and from what I can learn from the best and most 
authoritative sources, I know the Cubans will accept no terms but the freedom 
of the island— no more faithless promises of reform; nothing but absolute 
independence. 

That was true then, and it is true now. The Cuban patriots will 
accept no armistice, no more reforms, no system of autonomy. 
They will accept nothing but independence or death. God help 
any Administration in this country that will cooperate with Spain 
to coerce the Cuban patriots to accept anything but independence. 

That joint resolution of mine granting belligerent rights to the 
Cubans was never reported from the committee of this House, 
although I did all I could, in season and out of season, to get it 
reported. 

Senator Morgan's resolution, which passed the Senate, is very 
similar to it, and after it came to this House I abandoned my 
resolution in favor of his. The committee never reported it. 

On the 17th day of June, 1897, 1 presented to this House a mon- 
ster petition in favor of the immediate passage of Senator Morgan's 
resolution, and, as the Record will show, I then said in a short 
speech which I made: 

We are wasting time here day in and day out while hundreds and hun- 
dreds of American citizens are languishing in Cuban jails for no offense what- 
ever. Our trade with Cuba ruined, our flag fired upon, our citizens robbed, 
insulted, and assassinated, or driven like wild beasts from their homes and 
farms in the interior of Cuba to the Spanish fortified towns on the coast to 
starve, to sicken, and to die! The history of the last two years' struggle in 
Cuba is the saddest in all the annals of the world. It is high time this great 
Government should protect its citizens and their property m Cuba. It is 
hi^h time we should intervene in the name of humanity, civilization, and 
Christianitv, and put a stop to this brutal, bloody, devastating caimge. 

These citizens of the United States in Cuba look to this country tor their 
rights and protection. Apparently they look in vain. The flag of their 
3251 



10 

mnntrv which should protect them, is spit upon by the .brutal Spaniards. 
ThSe Jrud L and bloodthirsty Spaniards trample our flag in the dust, ignore 
trpqtv ri"ht" and bid defiance to this great Republic. . 

It is t me for us to act. If we do not, we will stand disgraced m the opm- 
ion of o™own liberty-loving citizens and before the Christian powers of the 
world. If we do not put a stop to the fiendish barbarities and refined crue- 
£es of these Spanish brigands, our boasted republicanism will become a by- 
word and ourflag of freedom a reproach ancl a farce. How long shall wo 
submit? How much longer shall we permit poor Cuba to be a human 

^ThSohit resolution of that venerable Senator and friend of humanity, Mr. 
Morgan, granting belligerent rights to the Cubans, should be speedily sub- 
mitted to a vote o? this House. Some one is responsible for its suppression. 
Somebody is responsible for its delay. Who is the man? * * * 

The American people to-day are in favor of granting to the Cuban patriots 
belli" erent rights. If that question could be submitted to the people of this 
country, the/ would decide in favor of it by an overwhelming majority. 
They would like to know why no action has been taken by this House on that 
joint resolution of belligerency. * * * We allow our citizens to be butch- 
ered murdered, and assassinated in Cuba without a protest. * * * 

The American people want Cuba to be free. They will. see to it sooner or 
later that Cuba is free. I do not know who retards the joint resolution, i 
do not know who is resnonsible for the delay in procuring action upon it, but 
I do know that the day of reckoning is not far distant, and the American peo- 
ple, who sympathize with those brave and struggling Cuban patriots, will 
hold some one responsible. 

******* 
All that I then said was true, and you know it to-day. Many 
of you sneered and laughed then, but you do not dare to sneer or 
laugh now. The American people at last have found out who arc 
and have been responsible for the suppression of debate on Cuba, 
and for the defeat of all legislation in behalf of the Cuban patriots. 
The Republican party is responsible. No one who will read the 
record can escape this irresistible conclusion. 

Mr. Speaker, yet again, on the 19th day of last January, in a 
speech 1 made in this House on the diplomatic and consular ap- 
propriation bill, I said: 

Tbe situation in Cuba demands immediate action, arid the Ami 
pie are in favor of aiding the Cuban patriots by extending to them b< 
cnt rights. This should have been done long ago. There is not a mer i 
this House who does not know that if the Joint resolution granting 1 - 
ent rights to the Cubans which passed the Senate a long time ago by an 
almost unanimous vote was permitted to be voted on in this House it would 
pass here by an almost unanimous vote. I do not hesitate to say that mne- 
tenths of all the members are in favor of it. Some one is responsible for the 
suppression of action on that joint resolution. 

The people of this country would like to know who is responsible— w I 
it is the Speaker, the President, or the chairman of the Committee on For- 
eign Affairs. The time is not far distant when we will find out. We shall 
know. The Republican party can not escape responsibility in regard to this 
matter. The people, irrespective of party, all over this country want Cuba 
to be free. Newspapers all over this country are in favor of granting to the 
Cuban patriots belligerent rights. Congress should have done so at the very 
beginning of the war in Cuba. This is not a partisan question and can not be 
made so. It is a question of right, honesty, justice, and patriotism. Every- 
body knows that there is war in Cuba. The Spanish monarchy almost daily 
admits it. No one doubts it. Thirty days after Sumter was tired on. Spain 
recognized the belligerent rights of the Confederacy. 
Mr. Ogden. And rightfully, too. 

Mr. Sulzer. Well, we did not complain, and Spain can not justly complain 
if we recognize the belligerent rights of the Cuban patriots. International 
law -justifies it. We ought to take prompt and immediate action in regard I - 1 
the frightful situation existing in Cuba. It is proper and humane and all 
well encuarh to send provisions, to send money, to send medicine, and to send 
clothing to the sick, starving, and distressed victims of Spanish barbarity in 
Cuba, but we should do more— we should send down the North Atlantic 
Squadron to the gates of Havana, stop these outrages, and aid the Cuban 
patriots to achieve their freedom and independence, as France aided the 
Revolutionary colonists in their struggle for liberty and independen ce. 

The Democrats in this House are in favor of passing the joint resolution 
gran ting belligerent rights to the Cubans. Tbe Republicans have persist <i it ly 
refused to permit a vote on the question. The people of this country will 
bold the Republican party responsible for that action at the coming el 
We will meet you on the stump all over this country, and we will tell of your 



11 

recreancy on this important question, and the people will condemn von 

(See Congressional Record, Fifty-fifth Congress, second session, pageBlT) 

And again on the same day, discussing the same bill, I said: 

f lJ ^^ S ^ bmit a -/ ew WOT ^ 3 - regarding the situation in Cuba and to show 
the country the position on this question of the party of great moral ideas 
before and after the election, with a commentary by the distinguished gon- 

ron^oA 12232? ° Ve ? i hS destinies t of this House and whS apparency 
States le S lsl ation of the representatives of the people of the United 

The Republican party in national convention assembled in 1890 said re- 

U« "til Tig \_/UDcl! 

tJ-F^SI 1 ] 10 , hour of achieving their own independence, the people of th- 
,Vi^ ? + f teS ?, ave re S a rded wi th sympathy the struggles of other American 
people to free themselves from European domination. We watch with deer> 
and abiding interest the heroic battle of the Cuban patriots against cru- 
elty and oppression; and our best hopes go out for the full success of their 
determined contest for liberty. The Government of Spain, having lost con- 
trol of Cuba, and being unable to protect the property or lives of resident 
American citizens, or to comply with its treaty obligations, we believe that 
tiie Government of the United States should actively use its influence and 
good offices to restore peace and give independence to the island ' ' 

That is the Republican national platform. On that platform Mr. McKinlev 
stood before the people of this country. In his letter of acceptance he said 
that he believed in every word contained in that platform, and, if elected he 
would do his best to carry out the promises and pledges therein contained 
Let us see how he has done it. Let us see if he has kept the promise. I read 
I 1-01 ?, 1 ? e President's message, submitted to the Fifty-fifth Congress on the 
nrst Monday in December, 1897, regarding the Cuban situation. After givin<* 
a. brief history of the various insurrections, the various outrages, the various 
brutalities of the Spaniards in Cuba, he sums it all up by saying- 

"For these reasons I regard the recognition of the belligerency of the 
Cuban insurgents as now unwise, and therefore inadmissible " 

What a complete change of front! What a betrayal of a sacred trust! 
What a difference between now and then! 

That is what has made cowards of you all; that is the reason you havo 
changed your tune; that is the reason you sing a different song now. And a 
little further on he says: 

" It is honestly due to Spain and to our friendly relations with Spain that 
she should be given a reasonable chanco to realize her expectations and to 
prove the asserted efficacy of the new order of things to which she stands 
irrevocably committed." 

• ii The n ® w order of things to which Spain stands irrevocably committed" 
is the sub.iugation of Cuba by the ruthless extermination of the last Cuban 
patriot. That is the Republican party " before " election and the Republican 
P ar .ty , after ' election; and the comments I desire to read upon that record 
of infidelity, upon that record of betrayal of the people's confidence, are the 
comments of the Speaker of this House, delivered at Alfred, Me., not very 
long ago. In a speech on that occasion Mr. Reed said : 

'• Boasters are worth nothing. Deeds are facts, and are forever and ever. 
Talk dies on the empty air. Better a pound of performance than a shipload 
of language." 

The Republican party gave the people of this country "a shipload of lan- 
guage during the last national campaign; and now when it can carry out 
its promises it refuses to give the people "a pound of performance." Wo 
appeal from the outrageous parliamentary tactics perpetrated by the Repub- 
licans on the minority members of this House to the American people. Wo 
appeal from Philip drunk to Philip sober. We point to the record and ask 
for judgment. (See Congressional Record, Fifty-fifth Congress, second 
session, pages 820 and 821.) 

That is the record, and you can not now escape the responsi- 
bility of all that has occurred for the past year. I have no desire 
to severely arraign you, but I ask, and I have a right to ask, that 
you do something now. No more delay. 

Mr. Speaker, we Democrats of the minority stand ready and 
willing to help you Republicans of the majority in every way that 
we can to aid the independence of Cuba and vindicate our national 
honor. On the 8th day of March, 1898, in a speech on the bill ap- 
propriating $50,000,000 for the national defence, I said, in regard 
to this phase of the Cuban question: 

This is a time for the exhibition of the greatest degree of patriotism and 
for the exemplification of the smallest degree of partisanship. This is the 
time for action and not for talk. This is the time for unity, for harmony, 
3251 



12 

and for us all to stand together shoulder to shoulder for the safety and the 
greatness of the Republic, for the grandeur and the glory of the flag, and 
for the vindication of American honor. 

******* 

In a time like this there should be no parties and no party politics. We 
should all be patriots, and act with a singleness of purpose for the best in 
terest of all the people and for the greatness and glory of the Republic. 
******* 

No member of this House has more persistently and consistently for the 
past three years advocated and championed Cuban freedom and Cuban inde- 
pendence than I have, It is now a matter of great personal gratification to 
me that at last we are alive to the gravity of the situation and that Congress 
is about to do something and take decisive action. 

It should have done so long ago. 

In my judgment we should have recognized the independence or Cuba or 
granted her patriotic sons belligerent rights long ere this. Wo have waited 
too long. We have delayed too much. If we had taken decisi vo action, as we 
should have done, a year or two years ago, this crisis would have been averted 
and Cuba would to-day be free and independent and in her proper place 
among the proud nations of the world. 

******* 

Cuba is lost to Spain forever, and Spain knows it. 

******* 

In conclusion permit me to say, as a member of this House representing as 
loyal and as patriotic a constituency as exists to-day in tho country, that no 
one will do more, that no one will go further than I will, now or hereafter, to 
do all in my power to promote the national defense, uphold and maintain the 
national honor, and support and sti-engthen the hands of the President to 
speedily bring about what every liberty-loving American citizen wants to 
see— the freedom and the independence of Cuba. 

A month has come and gone since then, and we are still asked 
to wait and be patient. 

God knows we have been patient. We have waited long and 
have borne much. Pending delay, the Spanish minister insults 
our Chief Executive; the Spaniards at Havana blowup one of our 
finest battle ships and send to a watery grave 266 American sailors, 
as brave and patriotic as ever faced an enemy. Spain destroyed 
the Maine by a mine. Yfe know, and the world believes, she i3 
guilty. No one doubts it. That barbarous act was a cause for 
war. It was a declaration of war. It was the most fiendish, the 
most brutal, the most barbaric act of its kind ever perpetrated in 
the history of the w r orld, but it was characteristic of the cruel, cat- 
like, fiendish, bloodthirsty, bull-fighting Spaniard. There is not 
a man to-day in all this land who has read the testimony taken 
before the naval board of inquiry who does not believe in his heart 
that the Maine was sunk by a Spanish mine, touched off by Span- 
ish agency. If that crime had been committed against any other 
great power on earth, there would have been war within five days. 
We are too slow. We hesitate too long. We put up with too 
much. We are too patient. 

The President asked us to suspend judgment regarding the trag- 
edy of the Maine. The people of our land, broad-minded, cool and 
collected, slow to anger, and level-headed, patient, and patriotic, 
suspended judgment. But the time is at hand when they will 
suspend judgment no longer. Unless something is speedily done 
to vindicate American honor and the glory of our flag; unless 
something is speedily done for the freedom of Cuba; unless some- 
thing is speedily done to demonstrate that we are a brave people 
and a great people, conscious of our rights and willing to main- 
tain them, the world will charge us with cowardice. We are no 
cravens, no cowards. Let us prove it now. [Applause.] Let us 
act now. 

We suspend judgment against Spain no more. We come to 
take judgment against her. She has no true defense to make. 

o£51 



13 

The great American press is doing for Cuba more than Congress. 
And in that respect let me say to you that when the historian 
comes to write the true history of the heroic Cuban struggle for 
freedom and independence he will say, and truthfully say, that 
the New York Journal did more to bring it about than any other 
single agency in the land. The New York Journal is an Amer- 
ican paper for the American people. Regarding the frightful 
crimes, the brutalities, and the cold-blooded assassinations in 
Cuba it has told the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the 
truth. Everything it has printed has been corroborated by mem- 
bers of this House and by members of the Senate who have been 
to Cuba as its commissioners and have seen for themselves. It has 
given us and the people not only the news day by day, but it has 
given us ocular demonstration from the camera. Who can gaze 
on these frightful pictures and hesitate as to his duty? 

No one who has seen these terrible pictures, no one who ha3 
read the terrible news, no one who has listened to the eloquent 
but dispassionate speeches of Senators Proctor, Thurston, Gal- 
linger, and Money, will suspend jtrdgment any longer. If we 
do not act now we stand disgraced in the eyes of our own people and 
in the estimation of all the powers of the civilized world. The 
selfishness of Wall street must not interfere with the performance 
of our patriotic duties. We can not neglect the most sacred 
duties of life in order to please a few manipulators of the market. 
We must carry out the mandate of the American people and make 
Cuba free, or the American people will hold us responsible now 
and hereafter. They are aroused, and woe to the man who is 
recreant to his trust. 

Mr. Speaker, my position is well known and unchangeable. 
Long, long ago I made up my mind. I have never deviated from 
the first stand I took. I want to see Cuba free. She must be free 
and independent. The Spaniard and his yellow flag, the emblem 
of atrocity, must go. 

You know that in all the history of the world no people ever 
deserved the right of self-government more than the heroic, 
struggling Cuban patriots. For centuries they have been op- 
pressed, robbed, starved, and murdered by a cruel foreign power. 
The tyranny of Spain, her refined butcheries, her fiendish brutali- 
ties, are the blackest pages in the annals of the world. 

What a sad story the history of poor Cuba tells! For more than 
three centuries Spain has ruled her with a bloodstained and an 
iron hand. It has been a thousand times worse than the rule of 
the Turk. It has been a thousand times worse than the rule of 
a barbaric military despotism over a conquered and subjected 
province. 

The history of poor Cuba's trials, her woes, her troubles, and 
her tribulations never has been written and never will be written. 
Not half the truth will ever be known. And more the shame! 

Spanish rule in Cuba has been one long, unending, hideous car- 
nival of crime, of public plunder, of rapine, of official robbery, of 
murder, of starvation, of destitution, of assassination, and of 
cruel, torturing death— a frightful big black blot on the pages 
of civilization, a lasting, burning disgrace to all Christendom, an 
impudent, imperial challenge, backed by the bayonet, to the sober 
seuse of humanity and the Christian civilization of the world. 
[Applause.] 

No pen can depict, no human tongue can tell, one half of poor 
Cuba's woes and miseries. The horrors of Spanish rule in Cuba 
are beyond the conception of the human intellect. 
3251 



14 

Captain-General after Captain-General has come and gone, leav- 
ing behind a trail of blood and a pitiful record of pillage, of 
plunder of rapine, of crime, and of death in all its forms. But 
Cuban patriotism has never been conquered. It has lived on and 
hoped on, and as the years rolled by has become more intensified 
more united, and more persistent, until at last the bright dawn of 
Cuban independence is at hand and Cuba will be free. 

From the very beginning of her struggle for independence I 
have been an ardent friend of Cuba, a pronounced sympathizer of 
the Cuban patriots, and a strenuous and persistent advocate for 
their freedom and independence. I shall not change. 

I have made many speeches on the floor of this House m favor 
of granting the Cuban patriots belligerent rights or in favor of rec- 
ognizing their independence. Every prediction that I have made 
regarding Cuba is true to-day. With every other liber ty-lovmg 
American citizen, I want to see the Cuban patriots win their inde- 
pendence; and if we will do our duty, they will win. 

We must give our ultimatum to Spain, and it must be that Cuba 
must be free; that the wanton butcheries, the frightful horrors 
the fiendish brutalities, the bloody assassinations, and the willful 
extermination of innocent men. women, and children in Cuba 
must be stopped, and stopped at once. As I have said before, we 
want peace with honor; but there can be no peace with honor un- 
less Cuba receives her independence. The Spaniard must go, and 
the Spanish flag must be hauled down on the Western Hemisphere. 
Spanish rule on this side of the Atlantic is at an end. it has 
always been a disgrace to civilization and to Christendom. 

Spain has run her course. Her days of conquest are no more. 
She is bankrupt; she is obsolete; she is a Bourbon, never forgetting, 
never learning. Her throne totters, and the monarchy hangs in 
the scale, trembling for its existence. 

Weyler, the greatest criminal of the age, has gone. But the 
bloody Blanco is carrying out his decrees. He is just as bad; 
one like the other— no difference. 

Mr. Speaker, we have heard much of late about the Presidents 
policy of intervention. The President has been promising for 
several weeks to send to Congress a ringing patriotic message in 
favor of immediate armed intervention. Let us look into this for 
a moment. Let me say to you that as I understand it the Cuban 
patriots do not want armed intervention unless they are recognized 
as independent. Independence must come first. Intervention 
can follow, if necessary to maintain it. That seems to me to b9 
the proper policj r . 

There can be no intervention, it seems to me, with justification 
unless we recognize the independence of Cuba or declare war 
against Spain. The Cuban patriots, battling as they are and 
have been for three years and more for freedom, for liberty, and 
for the right of self-government, do not intend to give up now. 
All they ask for, as I am informed, is the recognition of their in- 
dependence. They do not ask for the armed intervention of this 
Republic. Recognize their independence, they say, and they will 
achieve their own freedom. Recognize their independence, and 
they will drive from the territory of the fairest island in all the 
world, the gem of the ocean, the last vestige of Spanish rule and 
Spanish domination. 

They believe, and I believe, that if this Government will recog- 
nize their independence, England and every South American and 
Central American republic will also recognize their independence. 
C251 



15 

This, in my opinion, is the first thing we should do. We should 
have done it months ago. It is not yet too late. Let us do it now. 

Mr. Speaker, I believe now that if we will but do our simple duty, 
as I conceive it, and recognize the independence of Cuba, the Cuban 
patriots will speedily win. It will give them the right, by virtue 
of international law, to buy arms and munitions of war; to buy 
a navy; to fly their flag on the high seas; to sell their bonds, and 
to raise money. Give them this right of recognition, I say, and 
they will be able to cope with Spain in every way and will soon be 
free by their own stout hearts and their own strong arms. No 
doubt they can do this. 

Look at the situation. According to the best statistics Spain 
has only about 75,000 soldiers in Cuba, and most of them are dis- 
abled. The Cuban patriots have 40,000 well-drilled soldiers, armed 
and thoroughly equipped. They can put 100,000 more men in the 
field if they have the rifles and the ammunition. Give them a 
chance to get 100,000 more rifles and 2,000,000 cartridges, and the 
Cubans in thirty days will drive the last Spaniard from the coast 
of Cuba without any aid or assistance from the United States. If 
you want to avoid war, do this, my friends, and in my judgment 
we will escape war. Yes, independence, and not intervention, is 
what the Cuban patriots ask us for. Let us, then, be brave anA 
manly and recognize the fact, and give the proper recognition. 

Why, may I ask, all this talk about intervention? In whose in- 
terest is intervention? Not in the interest of the Cuban patriots. 
Will it be in the interest of the Cuban sugar-plantation syndicate, 
whose agents reside in the New England States? Will it be in 
the interest of the Spanish bondholders and Wall street, or will 
it be for the political interest and the aggrandizement of the Re- 
publican party? Let some one on the majority side of this House 
answer. 

Mr. Speaker, I stand now where I always have stood, where I 
will stand until the last — for the liberty-loving people of Cuba, 
who are making and have made as heroic and as gallant a battle 
for freedom and independence as any people ever made in the his- 
tory of the world. [Applause.] I want to see them win, and 1 
know they will win if this great Republic, which should stand as 
a shining light, as a beacon, and as an example for all the other 
republics of the world and for every people struggling' for liberty 
and independence, will simply do its duty, [Applause.] 

Let us pass a joint resolution recognizing the independence of 
Cuba. Let us do it at once without waiting further for a message 
from the President or for the consent of the Speaker. 

Let us do our duty, and then let us hope the Executive will do 
his duty. If he believes in delay, if he believes in a policy of pro- 
crastination, I know of no reason why we should. There is not 
a member on the floor of this House who can rise in his place now 
and tell us what the policy of Mr. McKinley is or will be regard- 
ing the Cuban question. No one seems to know. There does not 
seem to be a man in Congress who can tell. Is there any reason 
to believe we shall be able to know more about the President's policy 
next week, or the week after next, or next month, or the month 
after next? 

Many people of this country, I am afraid, are beginning to 
think that Mr. McKinley is not a free agent. A great many peo- 
ple will soon believe he has no mind of his own. If he does not 
do something pretty soon, the people will ere long believe that ho 
is a mere automaton. [Laughter.] He wabbles; he waits; he 

G251 



1G 

hesitates. He changes his mind. Our countrymen are beginning 
to believe that something must be wrong. Many no doubt think 
that one day he listens to the nobler impulses of his own heart— 
and he has a good heart— and to the patriotic dictates of his own 
conscience— and his own conscience must tell him his imperative 
duty — and that the next day he listens to his alleged owners and 
advisers, Hanna, McCook, Elkins, and the agents of Wall street. 
The American people will rebel against being governed by the 
agent of Mark Hanna. Take my word for it. the American peo- 
ple will never consent to be governed by any man who is not big 
enough to own himself. Let those to whom this applies take heed 
lest they fall. A word to the wise is sufficient. 

Mr. Speaker, you know and I know that the American people 
are to-day aroused as they have seldom been before. They de- 
mand to know what we, their representatives, intend to do to 
help free Cuba. Do not mock them. Make no mistake; they will 
know. They want to know what the President is going to do 
about it, and they will know. There comes a day of reckoning. 

We are waiting and waiting. For what? For the President to 
make up his mind; for the Executive to come to some conclusion. 
The American people have made up their minds long ago. They 
want us to act. They want us to do something. We can not 
gather courage by inaction and irresolution. If we are going to 
do anything regarding Cuba we must doit now. This talk about 
intervention will be ridiculous in a few weeks more when the 
rainy season in Cuba begins. Everyone knows who knows any- 
thing about Cuba that it will be impossible for our American 
soldiery to operate with any degree of success in Cuba during the 
rainy season. The dread disease of yellow fever will be more po- 
tent then than bullets from Spanish rifles. Now is the time to act. 
The watchward of the Administration should be action! action! 
action! 

Mr. Speaker, for one I do not think the President is dealing 
fairly with Congress. Do you not think it was his duty to send 
some message to the representatives of the people telling them 
what he intended to do and when he would do it? We are wait- 
ing, but we are waiting in vain. I hope we will not have to wait 
after next Monday. We are neglecting the true performance of 
our duties. You gentlemen do not fully appreciate how intense 
the feeling is among the American people generally on this Cuban 
question. You do not know how they chafe under these unex- 
plained and incomprehensible delays. I sincerely hope you gen- 
tlemen of the majority have some conception of how aroused, how 
embittered, how humiliated, and how disgusted the rank and file 
of our constituents are by these delays and these postponements. 
They will hold the Republican party responsible, no matter what 
may occur or happen hereafter. The skirts of the Democratic 
party are clean. For three years we have been trying to accom- 
plish something for the freedom and independence of Cuba. 

You know that the Democrats on the floor of this House have 
over and over again, in season and out of season, endeavored to 
pass Senator Morgan's joint resolution granting belligerent rights 
to the Cuban patriots. The majority, controlled by the Speaker, 
has frustrated our efforts. You know, and the world knows, that 
the Democrats on the floor of this House have time and time again 
voted to pass a resolution recognizing the independence of Cuba. 
But the Republican majority has persistently voted against every 
attempt that we have made. We are in the minority. We can 
3:.>5l 



17 

not do anything but vote and demonstrate our sincerity and good 
intentions. The Republican party is charged with the responsi- 
bility of legislation. 

It has most signally failed to carry out its promises regarding 
Cuba. The people of our country to-day know that if you Re- 
publicans did what you ought to do Spain would be compelled to 
get out of Cuba in twenty-four hours. You should not have de- 
layed a week after the Maine was destroyed. There is not an in- 
telligent man in our land who has read, or wdl read, the testi- 
mony of Captain Sigsbee and the other survivors of the Maine 
who escaped Spanish treachery and Spanish destruction who does 
not believe Spain deliberately destroyed our vessel and assassin- 
ated our citizens. That crime must be atoned for. 

The proof of Spanish guilt is clear. The testimony is conclu- 
sive. If Spain was on trial for her lite and the proof was as strong 
and as convincing, any .jury in the land would bring in a verdict 
of guilty. 

Spain shall not escape for this terrible crime against the laws of 
God and man. The Maine tragedy must not be lost sight of. It 
ought to be made a casus belli against Spain. 

All honor and all glory to the heroic crew of the Maine. They 
were as brave and as gallant a crew as ever sailed the sea or chal- 
lenged a foe. They died in the service of their country, and their 
countrymen will not forget the deep damnation of their taking 
off. They died in the cause of Cuba, and Cuba must be free at 
least to atone for their death. They sleep to-day on Spanish soil, 
but ere the autumn winds blow again over the Queen of the An- 
tilles thej- will, if we are true to their memory, be sleeping under 
the Cuban flag or under the flag of the country they served so 
well. [Applause.] 

Mr. Speaker, I am one who believes in peace with honor, and I 
say now and again there can be no peace with honor until Cuba 
is free and the crime of the Maine is atoned. The sinking of the 
Maine is no mere incident, but is one of the most frightful crimes 
ever perpetrated in the history of the civilized world. When 
comes the day of judgment? 

I am no jingo crying for war for the sake of war; but there are 
things more horrible than war. I would rather be dead upon the 
battlefield than live under the white flag of national disgrace, 
national cowardice, national decay, and national disintegration. 
Yes, gentlemen, I believe if you had done your duty, if you had 
passed the resolution of belligerency or the resolution for inde- 
pendence, there would have been no war, and Cuba would be free. 
Many believe that war is now inevitable. If it must come, the 
quicker the better. If it comes, we have nothing to fear, nothing 
to be ashamed of. We appeal to the enlightened judgment of the 
world for the justice of our cause. Let us make it short, sharp, 
crushing, and decisive. 

Mr. Speaker, I believe it is the duty of this Government now, 
before another hour or another day goes by. to serve notice on the 
Spanish monarchy that her torpedo flotilla must not leave the 
harbor of the Canary Islands. I believe this Government should 
serve immediate notice on the Spanish monarchy that she must 
get out of Cuba: that we will not tolerate her kind of administra- 
tion on this hemisphere, and that if she does not get out and give 
the Cuban people their independence, we will recognize them and 
help them to adhieve it. just as France helped our revolutionary 
fathers in the dark days of 76. 
3251-2 



18 




We must be firm. We must stand up for the right. We must 
help the weak and oppressed. There isnothing the American peo- 
ple despise so much as a weak and impotent foreign policy. It 
will wreck any Administration. There is nothing that will de- 
stroy our Republic so quickly as national cowardice. We must 
maintain our rights or sink into national decay. Let us all 
stand together for the glory of our country. We know our own 
greatness and our own power. We are the greatest Republic the 
sun of noon ever looked down upon. We are invincible and in- 
vulnerable. [Applause.] If Spain desires trouble, so much the 
worse for poor old Spain. Let us teach her our greatness in war. 
That will be an object-lesson to the world. Every one knows, who 
knows anything about our Army and our Navy, and her army and 
her navy, that if she goes to war with us she will be crushed and 
humbled to the dust in thirty days. [Applause.] 

We must do our duty and fear nothing. Let us do what we 
know to be right, and let the consequences take care of themselves. 

Let us, then, at once meet the paramount duty of the hour and 
recognize the independence of Cuba. There are many who believe 
that if this is done at once there will be no war and that Spain 
will soon give up the contest and get out of Cuba. But, war or 
peace, let us do our duty. 

Oh, for one day of an Andrew Jackson in the White House, 
with his courage, his backbone, his nerve, and his patriotism! If 
a man like Jackson were at the helm of the ship of state there 
would be no more delay, no more hesitation, no more apologies, 
but he would say in trumpet tones that would shake the very 
throne in Madrid, "Onward the whole fleet; forward the whole 
line. And let the battle cry be ' Cuba must be free! ' " [Long ap- 
plause.] 
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